|
The wiki entry about Sidney van den Bergh illustrates the danger of a person transcribing information that he does not fully understand; the infamous use of the word 'retired' to describe the status of an elderly but brilliant extragalactic astronomer (such as Sidney van den Bergh, Professor Kenneth C. Freeman, or the recently deceased Alan Sandage), has to be regarded as an actual insult
; these types of brilliant astronomers usually work on astronomy 'literally till they drop'. For instance, our own local Australian powerhouse of extragalactic astronomy, Dr Kenneth C. Freeman is nearing his 'official retirement age' in that he may no longer be on the payroll; however it is unlikely that he will stop doing research. In fact, he seems to be more scientifically productive than ever, now that he is in his 70s.
As anyone with any background in science knows, "Professor Emeritus" is the usual way to refer to an active elderly scientist who is not actually being paid to do his ongoing valuable research.
I must say though that my most recent astronomical correspondence with Dr van den Bergh (on a topic of mutual strong interest) was not as successful as the previous correspondence I had with him; so I hope that he is still alright!
|